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tv   France 24 AM News  LINKTV  March 5, 2014 5:30am-6:01am PST

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>> welcome back to the "france 24" newsroom. here are the headlines this hour. u.s. secretary of state john kerry is sitting down with russian foreign minister sergei laufer of. -- serge a laufer off. ready to give is ukraine a billion dollar aid package. are meeting onov the sidelines of the support meeting for lebanon aiming at helping the country better manage its security and the growing number of refugees from syria. the annual congress in china gets underway. the government is promising to transform the world's second-largest economy with steady growth and a 12% increase
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in spending. -- in defense spending. also coming up for you this hour on "france 24," just 100 days to go until the football world cup in brazil. but things there are far behind schedule. we will take a closer look to see just if it will all be ready on time. and karl lagerfeld gives his latest show a very commercial twist just returning paris' cash crunch into l.a. into a giant chanel market. latest on the ukraine -- the head of the european union executive arm says that the ee was ready to provide ukraine with $11 million -- 11 billion
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euros in aid, made up of loans and grants in the coming years. it comes as there has been a flurry of diplomatic maneuvering on ukraine throughout europe today. the russian foreign minister was in spain first this morning for talks. speaking in madrid, he repeated russia's assertion that armed men deployed in the eastern ukrainian region of crimea are not russian forces. >> we believe that the problem in ukraine comes from the international community's lack of reaction. it failed to find a concerted response to demonstrations against the ukrainian government , protests that violated severely the ukrainian constitution. voices from abroad didn't just fail to react to some encouraged and even instigated the movement. russian foreign minister is also in paris today, sitting down with u.s. secretary of state john kerry. ukrainian foreign minister already met with his french
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counterpart in paris. let's listen. >> it was aggression from the russian side in crimea. but it is now time to think about the way out, and it is not only about ukraine, but the future of russia, how russia will do with what it did to ukraine. arance's position -- it is firm position against the russian intervention. forthat the same time, dialogue. we are going to do our best to establish a dialogue and find solutions to this unacceptable situation. ,uccess is not at all certain but we are going to dedicate all of our energy to this. i am going to bring in our international affairs editor
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with me now on the set. so much diplomatic activity today on ukraine. what exactly are the options on the table at the moment? >> absolutely. the u.s. is going to wake up soon and it will be a transatlantic one. there are a couple of options discussed right now. the americans have floated what they call a ramp-off plan, which is a very american turn, but it is the opposite of ramping up, but de-escalation, slowdown. this plan talks about russian troops pulling back from military installations in crimea to ensure that russian troops in crimea is no more than 11,000, the mandated number of troops on crimea. it also calls for international monitors to make sure that the human rights of ethnic russians and russian speakers in ukraine are not violated. that is the american plan. today what we saw is that also a
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plan is being floated by the osce, the organization of security and cooperation for europe. they are talking about sending military observers to crimea. this mission would include u.s. and the observer team they want to be on, but there men it would be a fact-finding mission to find out militarily what is happening on the ground. if you remember, russia is still denying that its troops are posted around installations in groups, asse armed we heard sir j lavrov -- sergei lavrov say today. it will be a question as to whether russia will agree to this combat is the plan being floated. in paris, what is happening in these meetings, they're floating another plan. the contact group plan is russian troops crawling back
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from their current positions right now. they're talking about the dissolution of extremist groups and holding presidential elections as soon as possible. plan, theal french-german plan, calls for russia to be part of this contact group. there would be russian representatives as well as ukrainian representatives. that will be the key thing to watch this afternoon. so far it looks like russia is not at all inclined to joining this group and holding face-to-face talks with ukraine. there is going to be immense pressure on moscow as much as russia to be part of this contact group and get some sort of discussion between ukrainian representatives in russia. these are all the options that are being discussed right now. , keeping an so much eye on the diplomatic angle here in ukraine. as the crisis continues on the ground, some young ukrainians say they are ready to take up
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arms if the situation were to escalate to war with russia. >> with the situation in crimea at crisis points, this army recruitment center in kiev has been doing a roaring trade. >> if there has to be a war, then it is my duty to go. you have to defend your country. 's troops are far outnumbered by russia's 850,000 strong regular army. the retraining army reservists from donald -- ukrainian army reserve is put on alert. >> i came because i feel a responsibility towards my land and my country. could iservist officer left the army 2 years ago but i came here on my own initiative without officially being called up. >> the government has not launched a general called, but some recruitment officers have been so overwhelmed volunteers they have been temporarily closed. >> lots of people who come are disappointed because they
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thought there had been a general call up and they are ready to join the army. we're telling them to wait and that if we need them, we will call them. >> many are not content to wait. at independence square, the headquarters of the ukraine protest movement, an improvised workroom in office has begun signing of volunteers for a self-defense group. >> other world news for you now. in paris, an international summit on the lebanon is underway. top of the agenda, the military, the economy, and close to one million syrian refugees now in lebanon. all right, let's go to the border -- >> since november, government forces have been fighting to lose and government strongholds near the lebanese border. there have been a string of successes, but their main aim, sever rubble supply routes from nearby lebanon and deposition strip on the highway. journalists were let on a tour by the syrian army and they
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explain the importance in the battle. >> you see these hills/ those are named kuwaiti hills. -- now you can see a mosque with the green dome. recent months, government forces have made incremental gains along the highway. the lebanese shiite militant group hezbollah has played a significant role helping government forces. they want the area cleared of hard-line sunni muslim rebels trying to topple assad, saying that they are responsible for the recent bombings in beirut. >> turkish prime minister recep type or to one -- recep tayep erdogan says he is ready to quit if his party fails to in local elections this month. he is facing a corruption investigation that seems to be
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posing the greatest challenge yet to his 11 years in power. india has set a timeframe for its national election. that vote would be held from april 7 to may 12. analysts say that this would be the country's most important election in more than 30 years. the run-up to the vote has shined a spotlight on the widespread disappointment india over corruption and disenchantment with the infamous -- nehru-gandhi political dynasty that of dominated indian politics for 6 decades. africa, the murder trial of a limp in oscar pistorius is now in its third day. the man known as the blade runner is accused of killing his girlfriend in his home on valentine's day last year. today, the athlete's neighbor resumed his testimony in court. on tuesday, that when his and his wife told the court they heard screams and gunshots on the night that pistorius killed reeva steenkamp it was a
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dramatic and emotional day, with the wife breaking down in tears. pistorius has admitted to shooting his girlfriend dead but he insists it was an accident. 's national people's congress is underway in beijing, but not without some protests outside tenement square. the annual meeting opened with the chinese term you're saying the country is targeting growth of about 7.5% this year, unchanged from last year. >> a modest growth target for the world's second-largest economy. chinese officials say they expect growth to remain 7.5% in 2014, the same as last year's target and slightly lower than the 7.7% actual birth rate in 2013. -- growth rate in 2013. >> the target is in keeping with our goal of seeking to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects. it will boost market confidence and promote economic structural adjustments.
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>> china's growth used to consistently outstrip official targets as government maintained a tight grip on the economy. the last number five years have seen a slowdown in the once blistering economic growth. the communist party turned its attention to reforms. that includes allowing chinese currency to float more flee really -- more freely on the market and make the country more business family for foreign firms. the officials hope to continue to shift from an export driven economy to one based more on domestic demand. the government is trying to reduce its the capital spending and the private sector may not be strong enough to keep the economy on track. recent manufacturing data indicates that factory activity slowing down. if that continues, overall growth could weaken and get below the 7.7% target. >> saudi arabia, bahrain, the united arab emirates have fromled their ambassadors
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doha. the surprise move comes in protest what they call qatar's alleged interference in their internal affairs. 3 go for arab states made that decision after what newspapers described as a stormy betweenlate last night the leaders of the gulf cooperation council in riyadh. let's go to brazil, where it is a race against time to get the country ready for the football world cup. to beadiums were supposed ready by december of last year, but 2 months later, brazil is far from ready for the competition in june. they are less than 100 days to go. it is getting down to the wire. >> clock is ticking for the world cup organizers. leftless than 100 days before the start of the competition, 4 of the 12 venues are under construction, including the sao paulo stadium, which will host the opening game on june 12. 'sspite the setbacks, fifa
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president isn't worried. much is a long day to go long way to go, and a short way to go is there a question problems -- it is a long way to go, and a short way to go if there are still problems. but they are under control and will be in 100 days an exceptional good start for an exceptional competition. >> organizers are struggling to complete various infrastructure projects like roads, transport systems, and even airports. officials have announced that some of the projects would not be finished on time. even in a country that worships football, the estimated 8 billion-euro building was seen in many as a waste of money. ,ast year, dozens demonstrated and with all eyes on brazil once again, protesters have vowed to return to the streets. >> the whole world will see the
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reality. they will see the real site, not what you see from the outside. it is the real rio that you will seizure on the streets. >> 150,000 police officers will be deployed to secure the venues , and the army will be ready to intervene. 64 years after they first hosted the world cup, brazilian authorities on to make sure nothing gets in the way of football's biggest celebration. >> back here in paris, s got a real treat. the designer karl lagerfeld made a giant chanel supermarket. there were canned goods, bottles of cola, and even chanel bread, the designer task work your way of presenting his label's autumn-winter 2014 election. there were stars like keira knightley and rihanna in
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the unusual fashion show. he says it is the top part of the 21st century. but things went a bit summer when some of the guests of the show began stealing pieces of the chanel stamp sets. security guards ended up having to search people's bags on the way out. but a lot of stuff stowe went missing, like rational doormat -- still went missing, like a chanel government. top leaders meeting in paris and u.s. secretary of state john kerry will be sitting down with russian foreign minister sergei lavrov, as european union ministers say they are ready to give ukraine and 11 billion-euro aid package. and lavrov-- kerry are meeting on the sidelines of a support meeting for lebanon, and in helping them meet the growing number of refugees in syria -- from syria. the annual congress in china gets underway. they are vowing to transform the
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world's second-largest economy with steady growth and a 12% increase in defense spending. sports news coming up for you now on "france 24 jericho --coming up for you now on "france 24," and it kicks off with france's comeback kid. afternce's dramatic comic the first leg of the playoffs with ukraine has given the entire nation a real live. preparations have taken on a real edge. >> we have a competitive team an able to do very good things but not such good things. there will be teams with a collective past with results the last 4 or 5 years that are far better than ours. >> the dutch qualified
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impressively for brazil. the netherlands are not the same, of course. they will also be missing a very interesting fire brings a lot of speed and is able to play on both wings come back and forth. it is changed a lot from what i've seen the last few matches. there've been quite a lot of changes. the team looks a lot younger than it did for the last major competition. this has been an even contest over the years. they first met in 1908. since then they have one nine matches each with 3 draws. all eyes will be on diego costa when he makes his debut for andn in wednesday's damon delete -- game in italy against madrid. the striker selection remains controversial as he played
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brazil last year before declaring his allegiance to spain. >> it always happens with any new player. i've got noticed any real difference with diego -- i have not noticed any will difference with diego. let's just hope the team can play. we will look forward to roll three months ahead to the world cup and hope he is in good condition and everything is as usual. hand in held the upper recent years, holding italy to -- 28 draw in12 2012. italy that we played in that .inal, a week handicap italy they were a bit more tired than we were. the situation was very difficult for them.
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but now we are expecting a much stronger italian side. the last time the sides met was last year in the semifinals, the confederations cup in brazil. the world cup winner crossed we'll has agreed to leave barcelona at the end of the season could the 35-year-old is in the catalan club's captive through its most successful era did he is battling a knee injury. he decided to leave 2 years before the end of his contract. >> thank you very much for being here today. i'm here to tell you that at the end of the season i will know longer be a barcelona player to following the last 2 operations, it has been very difficult for me to recover in the shape i need to continue here. i don't know what i will do after june 30. what i do know is that after the season finishes, i will need a
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rest. i have not stopped for 4 years. pressd like to ask for conference at the end of the season to say goodbye to everyone who has been with me the last 9 seasons for it -- the last 9 seasons. thank you very much and i will see you very soon. 1999, hehis debut in scored 600 matches and got 6 the titles and 2 champions league titles. in the last 16 of the basketball a home match and while the political landscape in ukraine remains uncertain, the host managed to pull out a six-point advantage right after the halftime buzzer. that cap then extended to eight points new the end of the third quarter. champions league garden after that, desperate not
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to make too big an advantage -- two big deficit after the advantage. ." you are watching "france 24 our top stories of course the growing crisis in ukraine, the subject of today's inside look. joining us is the director of the polish institute of international affairs, joining us via skype. thank you for joining us, sir. all of this diplomatic wrangling comes a day after u.s. president barack obama warned moscow it was "not fooling anybody" over its involvement in crimea. there have been tough words exchanged between russia and the u.s. will the diplomats be able to overcome that animosity and come to some sort of solution? >> i think it will be extremely difficult because it is a
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situation where russia has invaded the territory of another country in breach of united nations charter, in breach of the rules of the organization for security and cooperation in europe and in violation of treaties between ukraine and russia. this is a situation that cannot be tolerated by the international community without raising these objections. at the same time, russia is -- it is saying that it is not russian troops, but the self-defense force which is present in crimea, which we don't really believe. and number two, it is saying that it is protection of the russian minority there. in crimea, majority, you might say. there is the way it is being portrayed in the russian media. the narrative is that we are defending russians abroad.
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>> it could be a very real possibility, perhaps as early as this week. do you think that i couldn't he happened? -- that could indeed happen? >> i think that sanctions should be a serious possibility. when we have to deal with a situation where you have really a blatant breach of international law, and international roles, it goes to the reaction and russia will be encouraged to go further. today it is crimea. tomorrow will be used in ukraine. then it might be georgia, and then who knows? it is very important that it is this point in time that we very clearly show russia that this kind of behavior is going to have consequences. >> you said in the past the it is time for radically engaged
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steps from the european union. we heard from the president that they would give an 11-billion euro aid package. is that enough, or are you talking about more concrete steps than just giving money? >> what we really need for ukraine is a sort of marshall plan that the united states offered to the european union in the 1940's -- france, italy, turkey has benefited from that hugely. was solidified by a presence in the western bloc. we have now is a situation where the majority of ukrainians want integration with the european union and they want relationships with the west. this is the idea them by russia -- this is denied to them by russia, which has many, many leaders in the ukraine. giving financial aid to ukraine is one of the steps, but it all -- you also have to be careful
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who we give the financial aid to. it cannot end up in the hand of oligarchs or corrupt administration. we need a strategic action where we think about preferential treatment, how to help them develop -- help the developing civil society anticorruption -- and fight corruption. wegg99ññwçça7guct @ññññ
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